Don’t join a Frat – You could Die!

Your average binge-drinking frat guy may be too busy funneling beer to chain smoke. A nonsmoker student riding in a car with a “heavy smoker” may be at greater health risk than a “puffer” who smokes once every few days.

A study done at Wake Forest in December separated a previously homogenous group of college smokers into five subgroups, and the study’s results can be used to see which and when college students are at greatest health risk.

Previously, whether a college student smoked one or 300 cigarettes in the past 30 days, he or she was labeled a college smoker. However, recent nicotine and tobacco research done by Mark Wolfson at Wake Forest has removed this façade of homogeneity.

A survey done of 1,102 past-month smokers from 10 North Carolina colleges identified five heterogeneous groups of college smokers. Participants completed a Life-Cycle Assessment developed by the EPA and were divided into homogenous groups with similar smoking patterns including: “smoking behavior, including quantity and frequency of smoking, smoking contexts, and weekly patterns of smoking.”

The subclasses included "heavy smokers", “moderate smokers”, “social smokers”, “puffers”, and “no-context smokers.”

Because of the lack of homogeneity in previous college smoking studies, which used the previous definition of “college smokers”, new insight is found on what and when groups of college students are at the greatest health risk.

“Puffers” made up 26% of the North Carolina college smokers sample. Underclassmen were more likely to be “puffers” than were upperclassmen. This study reflects the addictive nature of cigarettes, “puffers” turning into “moderate smokers” and “heavy smokers” as time passes. This study shows that as students progress through college, the amount they smoke also increases.

Surprisingly, Greek members are more likely to be “puffers” and “social smokers” (19% of NC college smokers sample) than “moderate smokers” (22%) or “heavy smokers” (28%).

Further, “puffers” and “social smokers”, which were more likely to be involved in Greek organizations than any other subclass, are also more likely to be current drinkers or binge drinkers than were “heavy smokers”.

The study surprisingly found evidence against the cliché of Greek members binging on every drug available. Although Greek members are smoking less than the average college student, they are binge drinking far more.

Wolfson’s study only covered smokers, just half of the concern of state officials. Universities across the state have been trying to eliminate sources of second-hand smoke for years.

For example, the University of North Carolina incorporated a campus-wide smoking ban. At North Carolina State University, students were banned from smoking too close to campus buildings. To determine the primary sources of secondhand smoke, Wolfson conducted further research.

Wolfson surveyed 4,223 students (smokers and non-smokers) at 10 universities in North Carolina about their exposure to secondhand smoke. Eighty-three percent of students reported exposure in the seven days prior to the survey. With studies showing links between secondhand smoke and morbidity from heart disease, lung cancer, etc., discovering where students are being exposed provided insight on how to cut down on secondhand smoke health risks.

Sixty-five percent of college students surveyed were exposed to second-hand smoke in bars and restaurants. This puts upperclassmen at greatest risk, who are able to enter the 21-and-up bars as well as have enough money for $7 cocktails. However, North Carolina’s recent smoking ban in restaurants and bars will eliminate this source of exposure unless a person is unlucky enough to walk through the cloud of smoke effacing the entrance.

Fifty-five percent of students were exposed to secondhand smoke from being in the same room as a smoker at college students’ homes. Only 38% were exposed to secondhand smoke from being in the car with a smoker.

Although Greek members are not the heaviest smokers, the vast amounts of people at Greek events, and results showing an increase of smoking amount while binge drinking, caused an increased risk of secondhand-smoke exposure.

Wolfson’s studies split a previously homogenous group into five smaller homogenous groups to better determine when college students are at greatest risk, as well as which students are at greatest risk of secondhand-smoke exposure.

For the anti-Greek like me, we finally have a study showing that you should not join a fraternity or sorority if you do not wish to increase your risk of become a binge drinker, become a casual smoker, or increase exposure to cancer-causing secondhand-smoke at every oh-so-fun Greek event.